Xinhua News Agency facts for kids
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Xinhua headquarters office in Beijing
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Native name
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新华通讯社
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Formerly
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Red China News Agency (1931–1937) |
| State news agency | |
| Industry | |
| Founded | November 1931, in Ruijin, Jiangxi, Chinese Soviet Republic |
| Founder | Chinese Communist Party |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Owner | People's Republic of China (state-owned institution) |
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Number of employees
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10,000+ |
| Parent | State Council of the People's Republic of China |
| Subsidiaries | Reference News China Xinhua News Network Corporation CNC World |
| Xinhua News Agency | |||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 新华通讯社 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 新華通訊社 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | New China News Agency | ||||||||||
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| Abbreviated name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 新华社 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 新華社 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | New China Agency | ||||||||||
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Xinhua News Agency is also known as the New China News Agency. It is the official news agency of the People's Republic of China. Think of it as the main news organization for the Chinese government. It was started in 1931 and is the biggest media group in China.
Xinhua is more than just a news agency; it also publishes news itself. It shares information from the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in many languages. Its main office is in Beijing, very close to where the government leaders work. Xinhua tries to share its pro-China messages in ways that fit different audiences around the world.
Contents
How Xinhua Started
Xinhua's story began in November 1931. It was first called the Red China News Agency. It started in a part of China controlled by the Communists, in Jiangxi province. Back then, it mostly shared news from another agency for party and army leaders.
The agency got its current name, Xinhua, in November 1935. This was after a long journey by the Chinese Red Army. By 1937, Xinhua was translating news from other Chinese and international news agencies. In 1940, it started using a printing press to make its newspapers.
During World War II, Xinhua began broadcasting news to other countries. It started sending news in English in 1944. After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Xinhua represented China in places where the country didn't have official diplomatic offices. In 1956, Xinhua started reporting on different opinions, including those critical of the CCP.
People who study media have called Xinhua the "eyes and tongue" of the CCP. This means it watches what's important for people and shares information. A former director of Xinhua said the agency connects the CCP, the government, and the people. It shares what people need and explains the Party's plans.
In 2022, Fu Hua became the president of Xinhua. He said that Xinhua would always follow the Party's direction and the path set by General Secretary Xi Jinping.
Xinhua Around the World
By 2021, Xinhua had 181 offices all over the world. It publishes news in many different languages. Xinhua also manages and sometimes checks reports from foreign news groups before they are released in China.
In 2010, Xinhua bought a big advertising screen in Times Square in New York City. It also launched an English-language satellite news channel. Xinhua has paid other major news outlets, like The New York Times and The Washington Post, to publish its special articles. These articles are often called "China Watch" or "China Focus."
News for Officials
Xinhua also creates special reports just for government and party officials. These reports are called neican (internal reference). They contain information and analysis that is not shared with the public. This is because the CCP considers some topics too sensitive for everyone to see. These reports can include information for security and intelligence purposes.
Xinhua reporters send these special reports to CCP leaders from secure rooms in some Chinese embassies. Journalists often like writing for these internal publications. They can write more detailed stories without leaving out information that might not be popular with the public. These reports often analyze international situations and how different countries view China.
The system for these internal reports is very strict. It helps the Party control the information. A publication called Reference News includes translated articles from other countries and news from Xinhua reporters. This is delivered directly to officials. A shorter report called Internal Reference (Neibu Cankao) goes to higher-level officials. The most secret Xinhua reports go only to the top dozen or so party and government leaders.
Main Offices and Bureaus
Xinhua's main office is in Beijing, China. It's located very close to the headquarters of the CCP and the government. Xinhua opened its first international office in London in 1947. It now shares news from its overseas main office in New York City. It also has offices near the United Nations and in other major areas like Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
As of 2024, Xinhua has over 170 offices in different countries.
Hong Kong Office
Xinhua's office in Hong Kong was very important when Hong Kong was under British rule. It acted like China's unofficial embassy there. This was because China did not recognize British control over Hong Kong. So, it couldn't set up a regular consulate.
After Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, the office was renamed. It is now called the "Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR." It continues to represent the central government.
Cairo Office
Xinhua opened its Middle East Regional Bureau in Cairo, Egypt in 1985. This office helps cover news from the Middle East region.
Working with Other News Groups
In 2015, Xinhua and other Chinese state media groups signed agreements to share content with Russian state media.
In 2018, Xinhua and the Associated Press (AP) from the United States signed an agreement to work together more. Some US lawmakers asked the AP to share the details of this agreement. The AP said that the agreement helps them work inside China. They also said that Xinhua does not have access to AP's private information and cannot influence AP's news decisions.
A journalist named Joshua Kurlantzick noted in 2022 that Xinhua has been very successful in sharing its news globally. He said that Xinhua has signed content-sharing agreements with many news agencies worldwide. He pointed out that people reading news online or in print often don't check where the articles come from. This makes it easy for Xinhua's content to reach many readers.
He also mentioned that in developing countries, Xinhua is filling a gap left by other news agencies. This is because Xinhua's content is often free or very cheap. He warned that this could change how people view things, especially when local news outlets use Xinhua's content.
See also
In Spanish: Xinhua para niños
- Mass media in China
- China Xinhua News Network Corporation
- Xinhua–Sogou AI news anchor
